Little OneA New Beginning
by ShrinkingViolet713
Summary: Set three months after the first movie. Cypher didn't kill everyone, Tank and Dozer killed him. Things are progressing for Neo and Trinity while a new person is unplugged. Please R/R
1. Default Chapter

The ship is cold at night, with all of the power turned off so most of the crew can sleep with out fear of squiddies. One person though was awake, staring at the screens in front of her and their green codes. Trinity sighed and propped her chin up on her hand. She hadn't felt well for several days, nausea coming in waves, then subsiding. 

Neo stood in the shadows, watching the woman he loved doing her job. He hadn't wanted her to be on watch that night, and not just because he wanted time alone with her. The past few months had been hard on all of them. First they had been betrayed by Cypher and if it hadn't been for Tank and Dozer, they would have all been killed. Instead, Cypher had died. The incident had shaken them deeply. As far as Neo was concerned, the only good that had come out of Cypher's act of betrayal, besides them now being short one person who didn't really believe in the cause, was that it had pushed him and Trinity together. Together, they'd tried to overcome the anger and fear that Cypher had caused, drawing strength from each other. Their love had healed them and made them stronger. Which brought Neo to the other reason he didn't want Trinity on watch that night. She'd been sick the past few days, though she hadn't admitted it to anyone. Typical Trinity, she kept pushing herself harder, determined to not only take care of her own work, but to also help pick up the slack left from Cypher. That was why she was on watch, it was supposed to be Cypher's turn.

Neo walked up behind his girlfriend and rested his hands on her shoulders. Trinity jumped in her seat. "Why don't you go to bed?" he suggested gently.

Trinity shook her head. "It's my turn to keep watch," she argues stubbornly.

Neo sighed. "Trin, you're exhausted. What if you fall asleep and miss something?"

"I won't!" Trinity snapped, irritated at having her abilities questioned.

"What if you do?" Neo pressed. "Go to bed, I'll take the rest of this shift." 

Trinity sighed. She hated being sick and giving in. "I really think I'm..." The next thing he knew, Trinity was up and racing through the ship to the bathroom. 

Neo was about to head after her, but he knew that if she was sick, she didn't want anyone to see, not even him. So Neo sat down in the chair, still warm from her body, and watched the codes. He paid special attention to one in particular. The next one they were unplugging. 

Trinity was back fifteen minutes later, looking green and swaying slightly. "Thanks," she said softly. "I can take over now."

Neo shook his head. "Now, you're going to bed." When Trinity started to refuse, he stood up and lifted her over his shoulder. "You're going, Trin, you're sick."

Trinity was too tired to object and Neo carried her into his room, laying her on the cot. "Rest and get better, okay? I hate seeing you sick." Trinity nodded and Neo pulled the blanket around her shoulders. "I'll be back in about an hour, after Switch relieves me. Okay?"

"Okay," Trinity murmured, already half asleep.

Neo bent and kissed her gently, checking her temperature at the same time. She didn't feel warm. "I love you," he added.

"Love you too," she whispered.

Neo walked back to the screens slowly. He hated leaving her when she was so sick. The next hour seemed to crawl by until Switch finally came down.

"Slow night?" she asked. "I thought Trinity was on."

"She's sick, so I took over," Neo answered. "Yeah, it's been slow. I've been watching the new one."

"Ah, Christala," Switch nodded. "I wonder when we'll take her."

"Morpheus hasn't mentioned anything to me," Neo said, standing up.

Switch sat down. "Hopefully it'll be soon. We could really use another crew member."

"Yeah," Neo agreed. "I'm going to check on Trinity."

"Night," Switch called after him. "Tell Trinity I hope she feels better. She's been sick a lot."

Neo nodded. "Yeah. I'm worried about her."

"She'll be fine," Switch assured him. 

Neo walked into his room and found Trinity in the exact same spot he'd left her. He crawled into bed next to her and spooned up behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist. Trinity sighed, snuggled into him, and fell back to sleep. Neo laid awake though, wondering what was wrong.


	2. Little One: Freedom and Truth

Trinity woke up the next day to another wave of nausea. She stayed in bed though, fighting it. It finally abated and she rolled over to wrap her arms around Neo. It frightened her, how much she loved him. He'd been so amazing, going into the Matrix everyday, shouldering the responsibility of being the One and also working closely with Morpheus. Together, they'd decided on the next person to take out, a fourteen year old girl who went by Christala. Things were moving quickly towards the destruction of the Matrix. Unfortunately Morpheus had kept her out of the Matrix lately. He didn't want her going in sick. Being sick, even if you felt fine while in the Matrix, made you more vulnerable to Agent attacks. It slowed your reaction times. Trinity knew this and it made sense, but it infuriated her not to be able to help. She just wished she'd get over whatever this was so she could fight.

Neo felt Trinity shift next to him and opened his eyes, smiling down at her. Neo brushed his lips over her hair gently. "Morning," he whispered.

Trinity leaned back and smiled, meeting his lips with hers. "Morning," she answered. "Did I wake you?"

Neo shook his head. "Not really. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Trinity answered by reflex. 

Neo stared at her, the look that said he knew she was lying. "Really? You looked pretty sick last night."

Trinity sighed and rolled over, annoyed. "Okay, so I've been a little sick lately," she admitted. 

"How long?" Neo asked, rubbing her arm gently. He thought he knew, but just to make sure...

"About a month, I guess. It's gotten worse lately."

"We should have Tank or Dozer run some tests."

"No!" Trinity rolled over quickly, which was a bad idea with her stomach. She closed her eyes against the wave of nausea that passed over her and gripped the blanket tightly. 

Neo covered her hands with his, gently rubbing the backs of them until her eyes opened again several minutes later. "Once we figure out what's wrong, we can start fixing it," he said softly.

Trinity shook her head. "It's probably a cold or something, nothing Tank or Dozer can fix."

"If it keeps up for a few more days, will you let us find out what's wrong?"

Trinity sighed. "Fine. But it's nothing."

"Then the tests will show that," Neo pointed out. "Do you want to go have breakfast, or do you want to sleep some more?"

"I don't really want breakfast, but everyone's probably up already, so I'll go with you."

Neo nodded and helped Trinity stand, pulling her into his arms and holding on tightly. Trinity couldn't help but smile as she wrapped her arms around his waist and allowed him to hold her. Neo was her only weakness, the only person she let herself be vulnerable to. The only person she let take care of her. After a minute, Neo pulled back and kissed her again. "Let's go."

They walked into the kitchen to find everyone but Morpheus already there. Neo made himself a bowl of white goop and got a small bowl for Trinity while she sat down next to Mouse. When Neo placed Trinity's bowl in front of her, she looked up at him questioningly. Hadn't she just said that she didn't want food?

"You have to keep your strength up," Neo explained in a whisper.

Trinity knew this, but she wished they had crackers or toast or something that didn't look that gross to eat. She began eating, slowly, trying to will the goop to stay in her stomach. She was only about halfway through when Morpheus entered. 

"We're getting her tonight," he said seriously. "We'll make first contact with her as soon as you're done."

Neo wolfed down what was left of his goop and the others followed suit. Trinity threw hers away. She knew it was a waste of perfectly good "food," but just the idea of eating was making her feel sick again. She waited until Neo was gone though first, not wanting him to worry about her. She joined the rest of the crew which was crowded around the screens while Morpheus talked to them.

"I've sent Choi over with a phone for her, he'll be there in about 20 minutes. We'll have her meet Trinity, Neo, and Apoc at the bridge, then take her to the hotel."

"Is the hotel still safe?" Switch interrupted. "Look what happened last time."

"I know. But they think we've moved on, so it's safe to use it this one last time. After tonight, we'll have to find somewhere else. Switch, you and Mouse are going in to check on that this afternoon."

Switch and Mouse nodded. Neo caught Morpheus's eye and nodded to the side, indicating that he wanted to speak privately with their leader. Morpheus nodded and they walked off to the side.

"Are you sure Trinity should go in?" Neo asked worriedly. 

"Why shouldn't she?"

"She's been sick lately."

Morpheus nodded. "I noticed that. But I think it's important for the girl to feel safe and we need a woman to do that."

"Can't you send Switch?"

Morpheus sighed. "Are you thinking like a fighter here or like a boyfriend?"

"Both," Neo insisted. "Trin's being sick could compromise the mission and this girl is important to us."

"I don't want to send Switch, she almost lost you for us," Morpheus said. "Trinity is more subtle. I think that she'll be okay, but we'll have her rest today."

"She won't like it," Neo warned.

"Who won't like what?" Trinity asked, appearing suddenly. She'd had a bad feeling when Neo had wanted to speak with Morpheus privately. 

"Switch. Won't like scouting for new bases," Neo covered quickly.

Trinity gave him a suspicious look. "She'll do it."

Morpheus nodded. "They're about to contact her..."

Christala was sitting at her computer. Her long curly red hair was pulled into a ponytail and her feet were tucked under her. At fourteen, she looked more like twelve, being short and skinny. But size didn't matter that much to her, she was a giant in the hacker world. She typed in ""  and entered "What is the Matrix?" into the search engine. Much to her surprise, the screen went black. 

"Dammit!" she exclaimed. "Stupid computer work!" She smacked a hand against the monitor. Much to her surprise, writing appeared on the screen. "'Hello, Christala'," she read softly. "'You want to know what the Matrix is? Answer the door'...what the?" she asked. A knock sounded on the door and she jumped. 

Christala looked back at the computer screen which was blank, then back at the door fearfully. She took a deep breath and walked quickly to the door. She opened it to reveal a tough looking bald man. "Hello?" she asked, confused. The man handed her an envelope and walked away without a word. Christala shrugged and opened the envelope, dumping the contents into her hand. A phone? Who would send her a phone? And why? The phone rang and she answered it, surprised. "Hello?"

"Meet at the tunnel bridge in 20 minutes."

"But wait! Who are you?" Christala demanded. 

"Meet there and you'll get all of your answers." The line clicked dead.

Christala paused. She didn't know who had sent her the phone, it could have been part of the System, the people who she knew tried to hurt hackers like herself. But it could be real. Christala made a decision then and grabbed her wallet and keys, stuffing them into the pocket of her overalls, and headed out.

Of course, she thought irritably as she stepped outside, it was pouring down rain. Oh well, she didn't have time to go back and grab an umbrella. Instead, she ran to the tunnel, arriving in fifteen minutes. Four minutes after she arrived a black sedan pulled up and the door opened.

A man with black hair and sunglasses, despite the rain, stuck his head out. She balked slightly, but climbed in. A woman in the front passenger side turned around. 

"Hello, Christala," she said. 

"Who are you?" Christala demanded.

"My name is Trinity. This is Apoc," the man driving. "And Neo," the man next to her.

Christala stared at Neo. "You're him...the one the System was after a few months ago."

"Still is, actually," Neo answered. 

Christala nodded and was quiet until they reached an old hotel. She didn't think that questions were likely to be answered anyway. She looked up at the neon flashing lights, proclaiming it the Heart O' the City. They led her upstairs and opened the door. A tall black man was waiting.

"Morpheus," Christala whispered, awed. 

Morpheus nodded. "Welcome. You are correct. I am Morpheus."

"And the Matrix?" Christala asked in almost a whisper.

"You ask a lot of questions, and they all will be answered. But first, you have to make a choice. What I'm about to show you is difficult to handle and you may not want to see it. Over the past few months, you've stumbled onto things that most people never see or never want to see. You have discovered the Matrix, even if you don't know what it is yet. And you have two options." Morpheus held out his hand containing one blue and one red pill. "You can take the blue pill. You'll wake up at home with no memory of tonight, Neo, the Matrix, or myself. Or you can take the red pill and see a truth that has frightened many people much older than yourself."

Christala stared at the pills for a minute before picking up the glass of water on the table next to her. She grabbed the red pill and swallowed it quickly, washing it down with an entire glass of water, before she could change her mind.

Morpheus nodded. "We have to move quickly." He pointed at a chair next to a shattered mirror and Christala sat down. Trinity attached sensors to her body and patted her shoulder lightly. 

"You'll be fine," Trinity assured her.

Christala nodded and her eyes followed the movement around the room. The man who'd driven the car, Apoc? was sitting at a computer while Morpheus spoke to someone on a cell phone. Neo cleared his throat and Christala looked at him, confused. Neo nodded towards the mirror and she turned her head. That couldn't be right. It looked like the mirror was...healing itself. Tentatively, she reached out a finger and touched the glass. Her eyes grew wide when her finger stuck. She pulled back hard and was shocked when part of the mirror came with her. The silver liquid began moving over her entire body and she shivered. 

"It's cold," she whispered. The next thing Christala knew, she was in some kind of tank with plugs attached to her. She fought her way out and gasped for air. The hoses attached to the plugs popped out and she felt as if she was being flushed. She was dropped into a large pool and splashed around desperately until a machine lowered a claw which lifter her up. 

"I'm free," Christala whispered before passing out.

Morpheus waited until he was sure that Christala was free before calling Tank for an exit. While he was arranging it, Neo looked at Trinity. He'd made her rest some that day by resting with her but now she looked pale again, and tired. He walked over to where she was standing clutching the back of a chair.

"You feeling okay?" he asked.

Trinity turned and pasted a small smile on her face. She loved that Neo worried about her, she knew it was a sign of love. But right then she didn't feel well. Being sick while in the Matrix was a strange experience. Right then her head was foggy and black dots kept forming in front of her eyes. 

Neo heard the land line ring and picked it up, handing it to Trinity. "You go first," he said. Even if she wasn't going to protect herself, he was going to protect her. Too sick to argue, Trinity took the phone. She opened her eyes back on the Neb and blinked. The room rotated and black dots swam before her. What was wrong with her? Tank pulled the plug from her head and raised the chair so she could stand. But when she tried to move her legs, it felt like all the bones were gone from them and Trinity slid to the ground, unconscious. 

"Trinity!" Tank yelled. Switch and Mouse had taken Christala to the infirmary and Dozer lifted Trinity into his arms.

"Call Morpheus and get Neo back here. I'll take her to the infirmary," Dozer said.

Tank nodded and dialed Morpheus's cell phone. "Sir, you need to send Neo back now."

Morpheus looked around anxiously. "Are there agents?"

"No, Trinity's sick, she fainted. But don't tell him, just send him back."

"All right."

Morpheus hung up and the land line rang. Neo picked up the phone and held it out to Morpheus. Neo was used to being the last to leave the Matrix since he was the One and could fight off agents better than they could. But Morpheus shook his head.

"You go."

Neo gave Morpheus a confused look. Why was Morpheus sending him back? What did he know? He put the phone to his ear and the next thing he knew, Neo was back on the Neb. He looked around quickly. "Where's Trinity?"

Tank unplugged him and raised the chair. "She fainted, Dozer took her to the infirmary."

Neo raced off and barged into the infirmary. Dozer was wetting Trinity's face with a wet cloth. Neo took the cloth from his friend and took over, talking softly to coax her awake. 

Trinity felt something cool and wet on her face and could hear Neo talking above her. But where was she? She fought to open her eyes and saw Neo's face above hers. "What?" she whispered as she tried to sit up. 

Neo held her shoulders down gently. He knew she must be weak still since she didn't put up much of a fight. He was really worried about her now. "You fainted, Trin, you're in the infirmary."

"Oh," Trinity whispered. "I feel better."

Neo smiled. "I'm glad. But I want Tank to run some tests on you, this has been going on for long enough."

Trinity sighed. She didn't want to take the stupid tests. She wanted to get back in and see how the newbie was doing, she wanted to fight. She didn't want to be hovered over. "I'm okay," she insisted.

Neo shook his head. "You're having the tests Trinity. The sooner we know what's wrong, the sooner we can treat it. And the sooner you can be back to fighting."

"Neo, I said that I don't want them! I'm fine, it's probably just a cold!"

Neo narrowed his eyes. "I'm so tired of this Trinity! You've been sick for weeks and you keep putting off finding out what's wrong! What are you so afraid of?!"

"Nothing! Fine, I'll have the stupid tests!" Trinity huffed. This was so stupid, she'd be fine in a few days!

Tank came over and drew four vials of blood from her arm. "I'll have the results in a few hours, you should rest until then."

Trinity shook her head. She may have given in to the tests, but she refused to not pull her weight around the ship. "I want to see how Christala's doing. Then I have to work on the new tracing system."

Neo rolled his eyes. He loved Trinity, more than words could say. But did she always have to be so hard headed? "We can check on Christala, but the tracing system will have to wait." 

"Whatever," Trinity grumbled. She hated being pushed around, even by Neo. Neo pulled her gently to her feet, keeping an arm around her waist for support. She pushed his arm off of her. "I can walk," she snapped.

Neo backed off, but stayed close enough to keep an eye on her. They walked into the next room and saw Christala laying on the table. There were tiny needles stuck all over her body, sending tiny electrical impulses to her muscles to rebuild them. Morpheus and Tank were hovering over her and Neo looked at them.

"How's she doing?"

"Better than expected actually. Because she's young, her muscles aren't in as deteriorated as your were," Morpheus answered. "She should be out of here in about two weeks."

Tank looked at Trinity. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she assured him. "I must have just been light headed, I didn't eat much today."

"The tests should be back soon."

Trinity nodded. Her attention was drawn back to the table by a small whimper.

Christala opened her eyes and immediately shut them again, the light hurt. "What happened?" she asked weakly.

"You were freed," Morpheus answered gently. "Just rest now, you'll feel better later."

"What are you doing to me?"

"Rebuilding your muscles."

Christala closed her eyes, exhausted. Neo looked at her, then back at Morpheus. "She's so young," he said.

Tank shook his head. "Not really. We usually don't free people after they're 17 or 18. You were an exception." He glanced at the clock. "The tests should be done now."

Neo and Trinity followed him back to her room. "So they'll prove that I just have a cold," Trinity said. She didn't get why everyone was making such a big deal out of her being sick. She sat down on the cot while Tank read over the results.

He looked at Trinity and Neo and tried to figure out how to say what he had to. "I hope you enjoyed going into the Matrix," he finally said.

Trinity looked at him, confused. "I don't enjoy it, I go in to do a job and I get out, what are you talking about?"

"Well you won't be going in for awhile."

"Why? What's wrong?"

Tank smiled slightly. "You're pregnant."


	3. Little One: Author's Notes

Author's Note:

Okay, I realized that I forgot to put some stuff in earlier. First, the whole Cypher not killing everyone thing will be explained in the third part. Trust me on this one. And I'm working my hardest not to make it too mushy. Any questions you have will be explained, I promise. And I obviously don't own these characters. If you have any more questions, feel free to e-mail me or review the story!

Carolyn


	4. Little One: Fear and Explanations

Trinity stared at him in shock. Pregnant? That was the last thing she was expecting! Well maybe not the last, after all it really wasn't surprising. Just...not what she'd planned. "Are you sure?" she asked quietly.

Tank nodded. "Congratulations. When you're ready, we'll run some tests and figure out how far along you are." He figured that Trinity and Neo would want time to themselves so he left the infirmary, heading to check on Christala again.

Trinity turned to leave also and found her way blocked by Neo who was beaming. "We're having a baby," he said softly, a huge smile on his face.

Trinity nodded. "Yeah." She tried to walk past him but found herself blocked.

"Trin, don't you want to talk about this?" Neo asked. "About what it means for us?"

Trinity shook her head. She didn't want to talk, not now, not until she figured out how she felt about it. "I have to go fix that...thing." She was supposed to fix something, she knew it. But her head was so full of other thoughts that she didn't remember what. All she knew was that she had to get away. She brushed past Neo while he stared at her in obvious confusion and hurried through the ship, looking for something, anything to distract her.

Neo watched Trinity walk away, confused about what had happened. They had just found out that they were having a baby! They were going to be parents and she didn't even want to talk about it? She'd barely looked at him but the look he'd seen in her eyes wasn't the look of elation that he was feeling. But he wasn't sure what the look was. It was a mix of anger, disbelief, frustration, and at least one other thing that he couldn't identify. Neo sighed. He'd give her some time and try to talk to her again that night.

Trinity wandered the ship until she found herself alone in her room. Instinctively she locked the door behind her and sat on the cot, staring at the wall. How could she be pregnant? This wasn't in the plan, not even in the alternate versions that she'd come up with. She was supposed to destroy the Matrix, it was what she'd been working towards for the last 20 years of her life! She knew what being pregnant would mean. She couldn't go in anymore, it was too dangerous. She couldn't help fight, she couldn't finish her job. But there was nothing she could do, she was having a baby. 

Trinity sighed and curled onto her cot. She knew Neo was going to want to talk, and from what she'd seen he looked happy about it. Of course he looked happy, she thought crossly. He wasn't the one having his whole existence rearranged! She couldn't deal with him, not just yet. She couldn't deal with anyone, she just wanted to be alone. But some little part of her mind disagreed. You want to have Neo here, it reminded her softly. You want him to hold you and tell you it'll be okay. Trinity shook her head. No, she couldn't. If he knew how unexcited she was about the baby it would hurt him and she'd promised never to do that.

Not knowing what else to do, and suddenly very exhausted, Trinity laid down on the cot and fell asleep.

Neo gave Trinity half an hour before setting off after her. He figured that it was shock and fear that made her run. He knew her well and knew that she wasn't as happy about the baby as he was. But he also hoped that she'd come around. Being 99% sure was pretty good, but he'd rather be 100% given the chance. 

Neo poked around the ship looking for his girlfriend. He checked the medical bay where Mouse was standing over the newbie, watching her. Neo decided that he'd worry about that later. She wasn't by the tracking system that she'd been so keen to work on which only solidified Neo's suspicion that it had just been an excuse to get away. He checked the kitchen which was empty and the bathroom, in case she was throwing up again, both to no avail. Finally he came to her room and found the door closed. This was unusual. Since becoming intimate three months before, Trinity had unofficially moved into his room. They shared a narrow twin-sized cot and her clothes were lined up next to his on the floor since they didn't have closets. And since they'd moved in together, the door to Trinity's old room was always open. 

Neo reached out a hand and tried the nob, not expecting anything to happen. Sure enough, it didn't. He sighed. She'd locked herself in. Well fine, he'd just wait for her. Neo sat down on the ground and stared at the door. As worried as he was about Trinity, he couldn't keep a smile off of his face. They were having a baby!

For the next week, Trinity did an amazing job of avoiding Neo, especially since he was trying just as hard to find her as she was to avoid him. Finally Neo gave up. He was desperate to talk to her. Morpheus had keys to everyone's room in case of an emergency but refused to give Neo the key to Trinity's. Switch, who was in charge of arranging shifts and deciding who worked on what, made sure that Neo and Trinity were on separate sides of the ship at all times. But a week was long enough to play that game, at least in Neo's mind. So he did the last thing he would have ever thought to do. He staked out the bathroom.

Remembering when she'd gotten sick before, Neo made it to the bathroom before her and stood behind the door, waiting. Sure enough, within 15 minutes Trinity rushed into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her, bending over the toilet without noticing Neo. He moved quietly and stood in front of the door before he couldn't take watching her be sick anymore and walked to her, crouching silently at her side. 

Trinity heaved again, hating morning sickness with everything in her. And who came up with the bright idea to call it "morning" sickness anyway? Neo's kid apparently didn't know that it was well into the afternoon. Suddenly she felt one hand gather back her hair while the other rested gently on her back. Trinity jumped, frightened and spun around, ramming her elbow into the toilet. "OW! Neo what the hell are you doing?!" she exclaimed. "You scared the shit out of me! And why are you hiding in the bathroom?"

"I'm hiding here because I'm waiting for you," Neo said crossly. "You've been avoiding me for over a week, ever since you found out that we were pregnant."

Trinity continued to rub her elbow, annoyed that she'd hit the funny bone. "_We're_ not pregnant, Neo. _I'm_ pregnant. I don't see you worshiping the porcelain...well metal goddess five times a day. I don't see you having to get fat and put everything that you've worked on for the past 20 years of your life on hold!"

Neo stared at Trinity, shocked. "Trin, sweetheart, aren't you happy about the baby?"

Trinity sighed and stood up. "I have to go," she answered.

Neo stepped in front of her. "No. You're the one who's always trying to get me to open up and talk Trinity. Now it's your turn." He stepped forward and cupped her cheek with one hand. "Talk to me honey."

Trinity sighed and shook her head. "Not here," she answered. "Not now."

"Trin..."

"Neo, I have work to do. I'll see you later."

Trinity pushed past Neo and made it out the door before he could catch her. Neo sighed sadly and leaned his head against the door. She wasn't happy about the baby, apparently. Now if only he could find a way to reach her...

Christala lay in her bed, sleeping. She'd recovered far faster than anyone had predicted and was nearly ready to be told the truth. Feeling like she was being watched, she rolled over and opened her eyes. When she did she was surprised to find that someone was watching her. "Hi," she said softly.

Mouse smiled shyly. "Hi. Um...how are you feeling?"

Christala struggled to sit up. "I guess okay. Where am I?"

Mouse looked around guiltily. Morpheus should really be the one to explain everything to her. But he wasn't there. "You're on the Nebuchanezzer. It's a ship."

Christala raised an eyebrow. "Like a boat?"

Mouse laughed slightly. "No. Like a hover craft. You know what the Matrix is, right?" Christala nodded. "Well we freed you. This is the real world. The Neb is our ship. You're actually really lucky."

"Why?"

"Morpheus, our captain, is the best there is. And, most importantly, we have Neo."

Christala's eyes grew wide. "The One?"

Mouse nodded. "Yep." He paused. "Do you want to go look around?"

Christala nodded. "Sure. Are there other members of the crew?"

Mouse held out a hand and helped her up before leading her to the door. "Sure there are. Besides Morpheus and Neo there's Trinity who's Neo's girlfriend. Then there are Tank and Dozer. They're our operators. Both of them were born outside the Matrix, so they can't go back in to fight. Switch and Apoc are dating, but if Switch knew I knew, she'd kill me. You should stay out of her way, at least for a little while. And I'm Mouse."

"Mouse?"

Mouse blushed. "Well, I'm the youngest, or at least I was until we unplugged you."

Christala nodded. "I'm Christala. But I usually go by Tala."

"I like that," Mouse said, grinning. 

Christala smiled back before noticing part of the ship that was pretty much destroyed. "What happened there?" she asked, pointing.

Mouse sighed. "It's a long story. Are you hungry? You could sit down and rest and eat while I tell you."

Christala nodded. "Sure."

They walked into the kitchen and Mouse got her a bowl of goop. "It doesn't look that good...okay it looks nasty," he amended at a disbelieving look from Christala. "But I swear it doesn't taste that bad. Like really badly made oatmeal. Or runny eggs." He decided not to mention what Apoc thought it tasted like.

Christala looked at it doubtfully, then back at Mouse. "Are you going to tell me?"

Mouse nodded and sat down across from her, watching as she poked at the goop, apparently trying to make sure it wasn't alive. "About three months ago we had another crew member. Cypher. He wasn't happy being out of the Matrix, he couldn't handle it. So he made a deal with the program that if they put him back in the system, he'd give them Morpheus. They wanted to get codes that Morpheus has, codes that could destroy Zion."

"What's Zion?" Christala interrupted. She took a bite of goop and waited.

"It's the last human city. We'll probably be going there pretty soon, so you'll get to see it. Anyway, Cypher betrayed us and we all could have died. Tank brought him out of the Matrix first and Cypher almost killed Tank and Dozer. If he'd done that, then he could have killed all of us. Thankfully, Tank fought back and killed Cypher before he could hurt anyone. Or at least hurt them badly enough that they wouldn't live. Everyone's been kind of depressed and on edge since then. Especially the older members of the crew. Neo and I were the last two taken out so we knew Cypher the least. But Trinity and Morpheus had worked with him for 20+ years."

Christala nodded softly. "That must have been awful," she whispered. 

Mouse nodded. "It was," he answered just as softly. "That's why we freed you, we need another person on the crew."

Christala smiled. "I'm ready to start whenever."

The next morning, Christala woke up early, ready to begin learning everything she could so she could help with the fight against the machines. She left her room and ran a hand over her head, which felt strange. All her life she'd had very long hair. Now it looked like a buzz cut. She found Mouse sitting at the screens, watching green numbers flashing by.

"Hey," she said with a smile.

Mouse turned and beamed. "Hey yourself. What are you doing up so early?"

Christala shrugged. "Too excited, I guess. What are you doing?"

"Watching the Matrix."

Christala stared at the code. "But what does it mean?"

Mouse laughed. "It would take me months to teach you everything the code means because it means everything. It's everything that goes on inside the Matrix."

"Oh," Christala answered softly. "Wow."

In another wing of the ship, Neo pulled Trinity closer to him while he slept. She felt herself tense and tried to force herself to relax. The night before, he'd come up to her in the kitchen and, looking very shy and embarrassed, asked if he could come to her that night when he got off his shift. Trinity tried to say no but the idea of having him hold her while she slept, of feeling safe again won out. When he'd gotten off duty, Trinity was already asleep so Neo curled next to her and gathered her in his arms. Now, he felt her tense also and woke up. "Hey," he whispered with a smile. "How are you feeling?"

Trinity shrugged. "Okay."

"You ready to talk?" Neo asked hopefully.

Trinity sighed. "I guess."

It was quiet for several minutes, Trinity waiting for Neo to speak, and Neo waiting for Trinity. Finally Neo caved. "You're not happy about the baby?"

Trinity shrugged. "I don't know," she said softly, honestly. "It's not as easy as that. I mean maybe I planned to have kids, someday, after the Matrix was destroyed. But not now. I'm not ready. I know I'm not."

Neo nodded. "You're angry?" he asked.

"I don't know," Trinity answered as she looked at the blanket, unable to meet Neo's eyes for fear of seeing the anger and disappointment she anticipated. "I didn't plan this, not now. And I don't know what to do. It's frustrating too. I've fought for 20 years to destroy the Matrix and now that we're getting so close, I can't fight anymore. We both know that Morpheus won't let me inside. He probably won't even let me stay on the ship."

Neo reached out and covered her hand with his. "Trin, sweetheart I know it's frustrating..."

"No!" she exclaimed. "You don't know! You're not the one who's going to be told that after spending almost 2/3 of their life fighting for something, you have to sit on the sidelines and watch other people."

Neo sighed. "You're right, I don't know what that's like. But there are still things you can do to help us fight." Neo smiled, hoping to cheer her up.

"Like what?" Trinity asked crossly. She had never been one to sit on the sidelines, she liked being right in the middle of the action.

Neo paused. He wasn't prepared to give her specific examples. At least not right then. "Well...we're going to Zion soon, after we get Christala trained. We could drop Dozer off and let him have some time with his kids while you take over his job."

Trinity sighed. "I'd rather go in..."

"I know you would," Neo whispered. "But it's something. You'll still be involved in the fight, you just won't be inside."

Trinity nodded. It wasn't what she wanted, but what she wanted wasn't an option anymore. "I suppose we should tell Morpheus."

Neo nodded. "Yep. Are you feeling better?"

"I guess a little."

Neo smiled and kissed her gently. "We'll get through this, I promise. And at the end we'll have a baby. It'll be okay."

Trinity nodded. "Promise me something?" she asked softly, fear lacing itself into her voice. "Two things actually?"

"Of course," Neo answered. "Don't let them make me stay in Zion. I know Morpheus will try and I don't think I can go through this alone. I know I can't."

"And I won't make you," Neo promised, gathering her close. "I don't want to be away from you for any of this." He paused. "What's the other thing?"

Trinity took a deep breath. "Don't leave me," she whispered.

"Trinity, I'd never leave you!" Neo exclaimed.

"No...I mean take care of yourself while you're inside. I couldn't handle it if anything happened to you."

"It won't," Neo promised. "It won't."


	5. Little One: Telling the Truth

When Trinity and Neo finally made it to the kitchen for breakfast, everyone else was already there, except Morpheus. Neo got both he and Trinity bowls of goop and sat down next to her. Before he started eating, he smiled at the girl sitting across from him. "Hi. It's good to see you up and around finally. I'm Neo. This is Trinity." Trinity smiled half heartedly. 

Christala smiled broadly. "I'm Christala." She glanced at Trinity. "Are you the one who cracked the IRS D-base?"

Trinity fought the urge to roll her eyes. Why was that what everyone asked? "Yeah. That was a long time ago though."

Christala nodded. "I tried to do that, I was actually getting pretty close before I was...unplugged or whatever. How old were you when you cracked it?" she asked curiously.

Trinity smirked. "I was 9 the first time."

"Oh." Christala poked at the bowl of goop some more, wishing for something to say. She didn't like the silence that permeated the room. "Mouse said I can start training soon, so I can fight," she finally said.

Neo raised an eyebrow at Trinity who had frozen with her spoon half way to her mouth. 

"That's...nice," Switch said, looking at Tank who looked just as shocked and confused as everyone else in the kitchen. Except for Mouse who was currently very interested in staring at his empty bowl. 

Christala blushed and stared at the metal table. Apparently she wasn't supposed to say that. She ran a hand nervously over her very short hair, trying to think of a way to make it right again. 

"It'll grow back," Mouse said with a laugh, looking at her.

Christala's head jerked up. "What?"

"Your hair. It'll grow back."

"I know," she said with a self-conscious smile. "It's just the first time that I haven't had long hair."

"Technically, you've never had long hair," Switch argued.

"Or any hair," Apoc added with a roll of his eyes.

Christala blushed again and wondered if it was possible to feel like any more of an idiot. She was saved from further embarrassment when Morpheus came in. 

"Tank, get ready to load the training programs. Trinity, I need to see you and Switch."

Tank tossed his bowl in the sink and left, followed by Dozer. Neo squeezed Trinity's hand under the table and raised his eyebrows at her, wondering if she was going to tell Morpheus about the baby then. Trinity shook her head and left to find their captain, Switch following close behind. 

Apoc turned to Neo. "They're letting her fight? The age requirement for ship assignment is 18!"

Neo nodded. "I know. Morpheus has his reasons."

"Now you're starting to sound like the Oracle," Apoc grumbled as he got up as well left to work on ship repairs. Neo just laughed and followed, wanting to know what Morpheus had needed Trinity and Switch for.

Once they were alone, Christala looked at Mouse miserably. "They hate me," she said sadly.

"No they don't," he argued gently. "They're like that with all newbies. They just don't know you yet." He smiled then. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I can be," Christala responded with a nervous smile.

"You'll be fine. When Neo was taken out, he did 10 hours of training then fought Morpheus. But they'll start you slower. It took me five days, 2 hours each day, before I was trained."

Christala smiled then, a real smile. "Thanks. I'll see you when I'm done?"

Mouse grinned. "Sure. Why don't you go on? I'll take care of your bowl." As Christala hurried from the room Mouse stared after her with a love-sick smile on his face. 

Neo found Morpheus but Morpheus wouldn't tell him what he'd asked Trinity and Switch to do. So Neo searched the ship, starting with the bathrooms in case Trinity was having morning sickness problems again. He passed the programming room, figuring that Mouse was in there as usual, when the unusual sound of feminine laughter met his ears. Confused, Neo stuck his head in the room in time to see Trinity swat Switch playfully. "Ew, no! That's awful!" she exclaimed with a laugh.

"Oh come on, it'd stick out!" Switch argued.

"Yeah, but not in a good way!"

Neo cleared his throat as he walked in the room. "What are you two up to?" he asked and laughed when both women jumped, spinning to see him.

"Nothing," Trinity said quickly, turning off the monitor.

"Nothing, huh? Well, we'll see about that." He walked towards the monitor and was about to turn it back on when Trinity grabbed his hand.

"Fine, we'll tell you." She sighed. "Morpheus wanted us to redo the agent training program for Christala."

"So the woman in the red dress is out then?" he asked with a smirk. Mouse would be crushed, the woman in the red dress was his masterpiece.

"Well...more like we're updating it. The woman in the red dress was okay for you. But the whole point of that program is for someone the newbie would find attractive to distract them, to teach them that agents can be anyone. And since Switch and I are the only two women on the ship, Morpheus wanted us to design a man."

Neo laughed. "Seriously? Well, what have you got so far?"

Switch glared at Trinity. "Well _she_ vetoed my idea."

"Again, the idea is for her to be attracted, not repulsed!" Trinity exclaimed.

"What was your idea?" Neo asked, amused. It was rare, very rare, to see Switch laughing. The rest of the ship would say the same about Trinity, but he knew better.

"I thought..."

"She wanted a 400 pound man in a wife-beater and a mullet!" Trinity rolled her ice blue eyes.

"Well he'd stand out in the program, wouldn't he?"

"But if you saw that, you wouldn't stare at it...well maybe _you _would, but most people look down and try to get that image out of their heads!"

"Well fine then, what do you suggest? I'm not sure that a Neo-clone is a good idea."

"I wasn't going to suggest it!" Trinity defended. Neo was hers, not anyone else's. "Maybe we should do this piece by piece."

Neo shook his head with a laugh. "Good luck. Trin, when you're done, I need you."

"No kidding," Switch muttered, only to earn another swat from Trinity.

"I'll find you."

When Neo left, Trinity turned the monitor back on. "Okay. First things first, hair color."

"Black," Switch said automatically.

"Eyes?"

"Blue."

"Blue? I was thinking brown..."

Three hours later, Trinity presented the new program to Morpheus and checked on Christala. "How are you doing?" she asked.

Christala grinned. "Great. Tank said that tomorrow I learn drunken boxing." She paused. "When am I going to need to be able to box when drunk though?"

Trinity rolled her eyes and turned to Tank. "Have you seen Neo?"

"I think he said something about helping Apoc."

Trinity thanked Tank and headed towards the destroyed section of the ship. She walked as softly as she could towards her lover who was crouched in a corner. Bending down, she was about to say his name when Neo spoke up. "Hey. Did you finish your project?"

"Finished and delivered to Morpheus. What's up?"

Neo stood and linked his fingers with hers. "I talked to Tank and he said that anytime today, he can do an ultrasound so we can find out how far along you are."

Trinity smiled nervously. With Neo she wasn't as afraid to have the baby and, at times, excitement even poked through. But seeing the baby would make it real. "Okay."

"Do you want to go now?"

Trinity paused, then nodded. "Yeah. Let's go."

They walked together towards the infirmary. Neo caught Tank's eye and nodded. Tank abandoned Christala's training, trusting Mouse to watch over her. Tank arrived in the infirmary to find Trinity sitting on the table with Neo standing in front of her. They were talking softly but both looked up when Tank entered.

Tank smiled at the couple. "Are you guys ready to see the baby?" Trinity nodded and Neo just grinned. "Trinity, you need to lay down and lift up your shirt." Trinity raised an eyebrow at Tank. "Just over your stomach," he explained.

Trinity obeyed and Tank squeezed some gel onto her stomach. They had an ultrasound machine on board in case of internal injuries such as broken bones. But it worked for this purpose too. A picture appeared on the screen, a thumping filled the room and Tank smiled. "There you go. The baby looks healthy. It's still too early to find out if it's a boy or a girl."

"That's okay," Trinity answered, surprising herself. "I'd rather be surprised."

Neo beamed and bent his head, kissing her gently. "Our baby."

Trinity nodded, a small smile appearing on her lips. "How far along am I?"

Tank surveyed the screen for second. "It looks like about 10 weeks. So six and a half months left. When are you going to tell Morpheus?"

"Today," Neo answered. "We just wanted to know for sure when Trin was due before we told him."

Tank nodded and printed out a picture of the ultrasound for Trinity and Neo to keep. When he left, Neo smiled at his girlfriend. "Wow," he said softly.

"I know," Trinity agreed. Her hand slid down to rest over her stomach. "We're really doing this. We're really having a baby."

"How are you feeling?" he asked gently.

"Not as sick," Trinity answered. "I think that the morning sickness is going away."

"You know that's not what I meant," Neo chided.

Trinity sighed and shifted so she was sitting up. Neo stepped up so he straddled her legs and ran his hands down her arms. "When I'm with you, just you, sometimes I almost think that we can do this. That I can do this. But when I'm alone, I start thinking of all the things that can go wrong...things that I'll do wrong...I don't think I meant to be a mother," she finished softly, ashamed. 

"Why do you think that?" Neo asked. Being with Trinity, he'd learned that simple reassurances often didn't work with her, she was too smart. 

Trinity stared at Neo, surprised that he hadn't figured it out. "Well for one thing, we're at war."

"That doesn't have anything to do with your ability as a mother though, and you know it."

Trinity sighed and looked down, unable to meet his brown eyes knowing the disappointment she'd see there. "I'm not exactly the maternal type," she finally said, softly so he could hardly hear her. "I mean, I'm a soldier! I've never been around kids much, I don't know anything about raising one! What if I'm not warm enough? What if I can't love him enough?"

Neo stared at the love of his life, shocked. "Trinity, how can you even wonder about those things? Of course you'll be warm enough."

"Look, I know that I build walls and don't let people in...I don't want our baby to suffer because of it."

"And she won't," Neo assured Trinity gently, pulling her into his arms. "You let me in, didn't you? Maybe you don't wear your emotions on your sleeve but when someone's important to you, you do let them in. And I know that you'll be a wonderful mother."

"How? How do you know?" Trinity looked up and Neo saw an unaccustomed fear in her eyes. As a rebel, a fighter, as a lover, Trinity was sure of herself. But as a mother...she just wasn't.

"I know because I know you," Neo whispered. "And because you're worried about it. If you didn't care, you wouldn't worry. And I'll be here to help in every way I can."

Trinity smiled slightly. She trusted Neo, more than anyone. And if he thought she could do it, maybe she could.

"Now, are you ready to tell Morpheus?" Neo asked with a smile.

Trinity nodded. They left the infirmary together, holding hands as they walked. They found Morpheus watching the last of Christala's training for the day. 

"Morpheus?" Trinity asked. "Can we speak with you?"

Morpheus nodded. "Mouse, will you make sure Tala gets to her room alright?"

"Of course," Mouse answered.

Morpheus followed the couple to the hallway that led to the bedrooms. "Yes?"

Neo squeezed Trinity's hand and she smiled nervously. "I'm pregnant," she said, unable to find a more delicate way to phrase it.

Morpheus gave Trinity a long look and she suddenly remembered the times in childhood when Morpheus would come back to Zion only to find that she'd gotten into some kind of trouble in his absence. "Are you certain?" he asked after several seconds.

Neo nodded. "Tank just did an ultrasound."

Morpheus sighed. "Congratulations then. I wish I could sound more excited and if there wasn't the war, I would be. This could bring some complications. I'll have to alert the Council," Morpheus said the name as if it was a swear. "And we'll have to go back to Zion."

Trinity nodded and fought to keep tears out of her eyes. She knew it wasn't the ideal time for her to be pregnant, but she'd at least wanted Morpheus to be happy for them. "Yes, sir," she said softly.

Morpheus nodded and a smile flirted with his lips. "How far along are you?"

"Ten weeks," Neo's hand wrapped around Trinity's waist and rested protectively over her stomach.

"And the baby's healthy?"

"Both of us are perfectly healthy," Trinity said, her hand covering Neo's.

Morpheus nodded. "You two should take the rest of the afternoon off. Trinity needs rest."

Neo nodded. "Thank you."

Morpheus turned and walked away. As he did, Trinity turned and buried her face in Neo's chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. Neo stroked her back gently and felt her tears on his shirt.

"Why can't he stop thinking like a captain for just two minutes and be happy for us?" Trinity whispered sadly.

"He will," Neo assured her. "We just kind of sprung it on him."

"He's been like a father to me ever since I was unplugged and now..." Trinity trailed off and Neo kissed the top of her head gently. 

"He will be happy for us honey. Just give him time. Plus, he watched you grow up, he's probably not thrilled that I got you pregnant."

Morpheus was almost at the end of the hall before he turned back to the couple. Trinity had turned into Neo's arms and he was stroking her back, apparently comforting her. "There's one more thing," Morpheus called. Neo looked up and Trinity turned her head. "You two will make wonderful parents," he said with a smile. 

Back in the Core, Tank unplugged Christala from the computers. She was exhausted, more so than she'd ever been in her life. When the chair lowered her and she tried to stand, her knees buckled. Mouse caught her and lifted her into his arms, surprised at how light she was.

"I'm okay," she objected weakly.

"I know," Mouse said with a smile. "But I've got you. Just relax."

"Promise you won't drop me?"

Mouse laughed. "I promise." He carried Christala to her bedroom and laid her on the cot. She immediately curled into a ball and Mouse pulled her blankets around her, knowing full well how cold the ship could get. He watched for a moment before tiptoeing out of her room. 

He went to the kitchen and prepared a bowl of goop and a cup of water for her. When he arrived back at the room though, he stopped at the door and leaned in slightly. He could hear the sound of crying coming from inside.

Mouse crept quietly into the room and found Christala laying on the cot in the same position he'd left her, shoulders shaking as she sobbed. He set the tray down and sat on the edge of the cot. "Hey," he whispered gently. "What's wrong, Tala?"

Christala sniffed. "Nothing, go away."

Mouse would have left but he remembered how alone and scared he'd felt when he was first freed. "Come on, talk to me," he encouraged. 

"It's stupid," Christala said softly. "You'll think I'm stupid."

"No I won't," Mouse assured her.

Christala sighed and rolled over. "Before I was unplugged, I had this teddy bear. I slept with him every night. He was the only thing I had that my mother had given me. I just...I miss him," she finished softly.

Mouse felt his heart jerk. It was such a little thing, but he knew how she felt. He gathered Christala gently into his arms and cuddled her there. "I know how you feel," he said with a sad smile. "Before I was freed, I had a dog named Buster. He was my best friend. I still miss him sometimes."

"It's just...everything was a lie. My whole life. It wasn't a great life, but I was used to it. Now everything's different. I'm scared," she finally confessed.

Mouse tightened his grip slightly. "I know. That's okay though, it's normal. And I'm here if you need anything, Tala."

Christala nodded. "Thanks. I feel like everyone hates me here."

"They don't hate you," Mouse assured her. "They don't know you. Just give them a chance, they're honestly not that bad. Before you know it, they'll be family."

Christala reached up and kissed his cheek gently. "Thank you for being so great to me."

Mouse blushed. "It's nothing, really. I brought you something to eat, in case you're hungry."

Christala nodded and thanked Mouse again. She moved out of his arms and picked up the tray, placing it on her lap. "What was your life like?" she asked. "I mean, before you were unplugged?"

Mouse smiled and sat on the floor across from her. "Well, I was unplugged when I was 15. Inside, my parents were divorced when I was 8 and I lived with my mom. My dad never came around. I had two older brothers and a younger one. They were all really into sports. I wasn't, I was the skinny nerd who got beat up." He smirked. "At least until the jocks realized that I could hack into the school's attendance and grade records and change theirs. I made some good money doing that."

Christala laughed. "You charged people to change their grades for them?"

"Hey, it's a very profitable business. Especially when you had athletes as stupid and rich as ours. I started hacking into the FBI and CIA's private info when I was 14 and Morpheus found me not long after. So he unplugged me and I spent the next three years in Zion at the Academy."

"What's the Academy?" Christala asked as she took a drink of water.

"It's like a school. All of the kids in Zion go to the Zion School for Learning, but only those who want to be on a ship get into the Academy. It was the proudest day of my life when I got in."

"Am I going to go there?"

"Nope. At least I don't think so. See, Matrix borns usually do their training at the Academy. But Morpheus started you here, so I bet you'll get to stay on the ship."

Christala smiled. "Good. I don't want to be all alone in some city where I don't know anyone." She pushed the tray away and drew her knees to her chest.

Mouse reached out and rubbed a hand up and down her calf. "Do you want to tell me about your life before? Sometimes it helps."

Christala paused, biting her lower lip, which Mouse thought was adorable. "Okay. I guess. I don't know my parents. My mom left me at a church when I was born. She left the teddy bear with me. I grew up in foster homes. One of the other kids at one home, when I was about 10, taught me how to hack. That was the only thing that was consistent at every house after that. I guess I did okay at school. I didn't have many friends, since I change schools every few months. I liked English classes the most. I tried to take computer classes, but they were all really easy and I just ended up getting in trouble. When Morpheus found me, I was at an awful home. The so-called parents were never there, they didn't really care what I did. They fought all the time and after a couple fights, I learned not to get in the middle. I don't miss it...I just miss knowing what to expect. It never felt quite real, but now I don't know anything."

Mouse smiled in sympathy. "You'll get used to it, Tala. I promise." He stood up and pulled Christala to her feet. "Now you should get some sleep. Training is hard work."

Tala smiled shyly. "Thanks for listening to me."

"Anytime," Mouse promised as he gathered her tray and dishes and walked to the door. "I'll take care of these." 

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Christala asked hopefully.

"You can count on it."

Christala walked over to the door and stood in front of him. Without giving herself more time to lose her nerve, Christala rose on her toes and brushed her lips gently over his. Mouse brought one hand up to cup her cheek and when they pulled away, he grinned. Tala was blushing but looked happy. He kissed her forehead and whispered. "Sleep tight."

"You too," Tala answered. Mouse left and closed the door behind him, grinning broadly.

Christala stared at the door for a moment, wondering why she'd felt compelled to kiss him. She didn't know why, she just knew that if felt right. As she laid down on her cot and exhaustion overcame her, a smile bloomed on her face and she drifted into sleep.


End file.
